Systems failure might be cause of jet crash: Air Force
ROC Central News Agency
2013/05/21 19:33:05
Taipei, May 21 (CNA) A systems failure might be the reason a two-seater Mirage 2000-5 fighter jet crashed into the Taiwan Strait Monday during a regular training mission, the Air Force said Tuesday, based on the results of an initial investigation.
The Mirage ploughed into the sea off Hsinchu County in northern Taiwan, but its two pilots ejected and parachuted to safety.
An Air Force task force was continuing to probe the cause of the crash and all the country's Mirage 2000-5s have been grounded for safety inspections.
Air Force officials said that a failure in hydraulic pressure and power systems might have caused the crash, but they added that the exact cause will not be determined until after a thorough investigation of the jet's wreckage, its black boxes and on-board video has been carried out.
Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu held a meeting that day on military aviation safety, as it was the second crash of an Air Force fighter in five days, according to Luo Shao-ho, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND).
The earlier incident involved a single-seater F-16 jet that crashed during a routine training mission in waters in the Taiwan Strait near the southern county of Chiayi May 15.
(By Y.L. Kao)
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